Many people use electronic document preparation systems to help prepare important documents electronically. For example, each year millions of people use electronic tax return preparation systems to help prepare and file their tax returns. Typically, electronic tax return preparation systems receive tax related information from a user and then automatically populate the various fields in electronic versions of government tax forms. Electronic tax return preparation systems represent a potentially flexible, highly accessible, and affordable source of tax return preparation assistance for customers. However, the processes that enable the electronic tax return preparation systems to automatically populate various data fields of the tax forms often utilize large amounts of computing system and human resources.
For instance, due to changes in tax laws, or due to updates in government tax forms, tax forms can change from year to year, or even multiple times in a same year. If a tax form changes, or a new tax form is introduced, it can be very difficult to efficiently update the electronic tax return preparation system to correctly populate the various fields of the tax forms with the requested values. For example, a particular line of a newly adjusted tax form may request an input according to a function that requires values from other lines of the tax form and possibly values from other tax forms or worksheets. These functions range from very simple to very complex. Updating the electronic tax return preparation system often includes utilizing a combination of tax experts, software and system engineers, and large amounts of computing resources to incorporate the new form into the electronic tax return preparation system. This can lead to delays in releasing an updated version of the electronic tax return preparation system as well as considerable expenses. These expenses are then passed on to customers of the electronic tax return preparation system, as are the delays. Furthermore, these processes for updating electronic tax returns can introduce inaccuracies into the tax return preparation system.
These expenses, delays, and possible inaccuracies can have an adverse impact on traditional electronic tax return preparation systems. Customers may lose confidence in the electronic tax return preparation systems. Furthermore, customers may simply decide to utilize less expensive options for preparing their taxes.
These issues and drawbacks are not limited to electronic tax return preparation systems. Any electronic document preparation system that assists users to electronically fill out forms or prepare documents can suffer from these drawbacks when the forms are updated or new forms are released.
What is needed is a method and system that efficiently and accurately incorporates new forms into an electronic document preparation system.